Clinton Stumps for Malloy in New Haven, Highlights Gov’s Strengths

Former Pres. Clinton shakes hands on his way in to give a speech for Gov. Malloy at the Omni in New Haven on Tuesday

Former President Bill Clinton told a friendly crowd of party loyalists Tuesday that Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy should be elected by 10 points or more based on what he’s been able to accomplish.

That’s the message Clinton told a half-full ballroom of supporters at the Omni Hotel in New Haven. He also said that they have to get their family and friends on board.

Clinton also acknowledged that Malloy’s rematch against Republican Tom Foley will by all accounts be a tight race.

“We all say we want somebody who is going to be a leader,” Clinton said. “To make the hard decisions when times are hard. We want somebody who won’t look at the polls, but look toward the future and think about what’s good for the children.”

He said that by those tests, Malloy has more than earned another four years as governor.

But Foley would have his supporters believe that the state is worse off than four years ago and the rate of economic recovery is part of the reason.

“This is a guy who prays for rain on a sunny day,” Malloy said of his opponent. “Connecticut is a great state. We’re going to prove that on election day.”

Clinton said Malloy should not be faulted for laying out a strategy and taking action to implement it.

He said Malloy told the truth about what he would need to do to close a historic $3.67 billion budget deficit in 2011. He said Malloy was honest about the budget and told the people of Connecticut in 2010 that “if you think I can fix this without any pain then you need to hire somebody else.”

“By 6,400 votes the people of Connecticut said ‘thank you for telling us the truth, plus go do the hard thing’,” Clinton said, citing the margin in Malloy’s 2010 victory over Foley.

Clinton also praised Malloy for his handling of natural disasters and the Sandy Hook School shooting, which prompted the Connecticut legislature to enact tougher gun regulations.

“I gotta say one thing about this gun issue,” Clinton said. “You know I was the last president to have some success. We passed the Brady bill and we passed the assault weapons ban and we limited ammunition clips and the blood was on the floor.”

He said he told a group of deer hunters in New Hampshire that if they lost an hour in the woods because of the legislation he passed then he didn’t want them to vote for him.

“You gotta have universal background checks,” Clinton said.

He said he has a friend in the mountains of north Arkansas, “which is about as gun crazy as you can get.” His friend has a friend who is a gun collector and the gun collector said “anybody who would sell a gun to someone else at a gun store, over the Internet, out of the back of a pickup, at a gun show without a background check, ought to be ashamed of themselves. If you can’t pass one you got no business owning a gun.”

“They tell voters you can eat all the candy you want and you will never have to go to the dentist,” Clinton said. “The consequences are not good.”

Clinton said Malloy learned to be tough because of the obstacles he overcame as a child.

“He knew you’d never get anywhere in life if you lived in denial,” Clinton said. “. . . it is a lousy strategy for life, for child rearing, and for political leadership. You have the opposite in Dan Malloy.”

He told the crowd that their job was to go talk to people who weren’t in the room and tell them why they should support Malloy and why they’ve got to vote.

John Olsen, former president of the AFL-CIO and former Democratic Party chairman, said the biggest hurdle both Malloy and Foley face is voter apathy. It’s a midterm election and the governor’s race is at the top.

“It’s not so much about polls,” Olsen said. “It’s about turning out your base and being competitive with the unaffiliated voters in the state. That’s what wins elections.”

He said at the end of the day the governor needs to close the deal by telling voters why they need to vote for him.

Olsen pointed out that the negative ads coming mostly from outside Super PACs are known to suppress the vote, so this election is likely to be tight and will hinge largely on turnout efforts.

“The lives of the children and the future of this state will be shaped dramatically by this election,” Clinton told supporters. “In some ways this election is even more important than the last election.”

Malloy told the crowd he didn’t need to remind them of their collective successes, which he said included the creation of 60,000 private sector jobs since he was elected. He also cited increases in education funding and the deal he struck with United Technologies Corporation to maintain its presence in Connecticut.

“It’s great to have a former President visit our state—and it’s good for Connecticut,” Chris Cooper, a spokesman for Foley’s campaign said. “It also shows how desperate Dan Malloy is to bring in people he thinks can help him save his campaign which has been plagued by his record-breaking tax increase in 2011 and his failed polices which have stalled economic growth, resulting in Connecticut having one of the worst job recovery rates in the nation.”

Prior to his speech at the Omni Hotel, Malloy and Clinton visited Katalina’s Bakery on Whitney Avenue.

Katalina’s Bakery received a $30,000 Small Business Express loan from the state. Click here to read about Malloy’s previous visit to the bakery.

Clinton visited the state back in 2010 shortly before Malloy’s second run for governor. That rally at the University of Hartford drew hundreds and came at a time when Malloy was behind in the polls. He won the election a few days later by 6,404 votes.

The event at the Omni Hotel was a fundraiser for the Democratic Party. The party declined to say how much it raised, but tickets were $50 per person.

“We understand that Governor Malloy needs to raise money because he is behind in his race for re-election, but bringing former President Clinton here is a risky move,” the Republican Party said in a statement last week. “President Clinton insulted his wife and the American people by having an extramarital affair with a very young intern.”

(24) Comments

posted by: Councilman1 | September 2, 2014 3:31pm

Stupid quote at the end by the Repubs. The Republicans insulted the American people by trying to impeach him for it.

posted by: cnj-david | September 2, 2014 3:53pm

The proceedings against President Clinton weren’t for having an extra-marital affair - they were for lying about it to Congress.

I disapprove of him cheating on his wife - but if he’d simply stated “This is between me and my wife, (and perhaps their pastor)” and refused to say anything else, he’d be a lot more credible and there wouldn’t have been any proceedings against him.

Instead he chose to lie to the entire world when he stated “I did not have sex with that woman”.

He destroyed his credibility, and as our president, he should not have done that.

posted by: JH_1 | September 2, 2014 4:14pm

With all due respect to the former president, 2 years ago, he was pounding the podium claiming Obama needed 4 more years to finish the job he started. How’s that working out?

After that, Mr. Clinton has lost credibility in my opinion and I voted for him back then.

posted by: Joebigjoe | September 2, 2014 6:33pm

Also stupid people think impeachment was for an affair. Impeachment was for lying to a grand jury. When you allow the President of the US to lie under oath (doesnt matter if someone thinks the question is personal as if it wasnt relevant or appropriate a judge would decide that) then you open up a whole bunch of issues for every day men and women and in the end arent we the important ones?

posted by: ASTANVET | September 2, 2014 7:01pm

Councilman1 - the impeachable offense was not the infidelity, it was the perjury in trying to cover it up. If you’re going to be snarky at least have the salient facts. He was also dis-barred. But let’s not let that get in the way.

posted by: ASTANVET | September 2, 2014 7:05pm

You know it’s funny about the Clinton impeachment - not ONE democrat thought he was guilty. Perjury and Obstruction - not one… wow….

posted by: art vandelay | September 2, 2014 10:03pm

A Democrat victory would be secure if Nancy DeNardo employs the services of President Obama. He’s excellent at fundraising and that’s about it.

posted by: dano860 | September 2, 2014 10:14pm

Where did Dannel come up with 60K jobs created in the private sector? One his adds claims 14K and some time ago he laid claim to 40K…which is it?
Read the following story from NY Mag. Written by a former Nutmeger…
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/08/whats-the-matter-with-connecticut.html
They said everything quite well. Yes, we are in a pickle.

posted by: dano860 | September 2, 2014 10:19pm

Oh ya, forget Billy Boy, he has nothing to offer and by the looks of that room he couldn’t even drag out the faithful.
That was one lack luster rah rah rally Dannel and Billy pulled off there. As was said else where ‘no enthusiasm’ at the Omni.

posted by: shinningstars122 | September 3, 2014 5:42am

The highlights I heard from Clinton were pretty lame and uninspired…Do’h!

He must not of had the “energizer” in his entourage this time.

posted by: christopherschaefer | September 3, 2014 7:43am

“[Malloy] knew you’d never get anywhere in life if you lived in denial”. So he better read this:
http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20140902/report-connecticut-economy-offers-fewer-jobs-falling-wages-lags-nation-in-recovery

posted by: Bethy | September 3, 2014 8:23am

@Dano860, back of Governor Malloy. In addition to the 60,000 jobs he created. There’s more! Before you run you trap, get the real facts!

This is what really makes my blood boil. When folks complain daily about there are “no jobs” in Connecticut and that Governor Malloy ran jobs out of Connecticut. That’s a lie. It’s very obvious that many folks go by what they hear. Yeup, if you keep listening to folks like “Tom Foley” and his crew, one would never know that there’s an approximate total of 105,517 job openings across the State of Connecticut. And that’s just in the major cities/towns. Don’t forget, there are 169 towns in Connecticut and i’m sure minus the 8 I just named, there are at least 20 job openings in the remainder 161 towns. It’s not Governor Malloy’s fault that some folks refuse to enhance the economic skills needed to be competitive in the job market. He’s been asking folks for a few years to get back in school to enhance those skills. He’s even offering folks if they return to college, they will match up to three free courses. I found a breakdown of job openings in each city/town on the Governor’s site: Hartford 17,518 job openings; Norwich 4,143; New Haven 11,402; Bridgeport 19,647; Waterbury 17,817; New Britain 16,017; Stamford 1,897 and Middletown 17,130…That’s a total of 105,571 job openings. Here is the links to those jobs. I hope and pray many of you land one of these jobs. Vote Malloy/Wyman 2014!

Employment in Middletown, CT
www.indeed.com/l-MiddletownCT-jobs.html
17,130 Jobs available in Middletown

posted by: SocialButterfly | September 3, 2014 8:29am

Clinton’s visit was a desperation effort in behalf of of Malloy’s failed record as governor. You can fool some of the people sometimes, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Clinton did not hoodwink state voters. Nice try.

posted by: SocialButterfly | September 3, 2014 12:32pm

@dano860: Dannel is desperate, and he should be. He isn’t an “Honest Abe Ribicoff.”

posted by: Jesterr72 | September 3, 2014 2:15pm

Malloy slapped the crap out of CT taxpayers with the biggest tax increase in CT history and a promise to get us out of the hole.
He lied.
The State is projected to be over $1.5 billion in the hole this year (and you know they are putting a happy face on that number so it ‘s probably worse - a lot worse.)
Bill Clinton said Obama deserved to be reelected. How’s that working out for the country? Democrat Party is unfit to govern. Period. That is, unless you want to turn the whole country into Detroit.

posted by: Joebigjoe | September 3, 2014 3:40pm

A good portion of your open jobs lists off of these web sites are either independent contractors or selling insurance and other products/services for straight commission.

Those are not jobs, they’re opportunities.

As for your 60,000 number you really need to stay away from inaccurate comments like that when you make your argument for your candidate. You sound like Barack Obama when he talks about how great the unemployment rate is yet they dont tell you that less people are working in this country than at any time in history yet the number looks good, because they stop counting the long term unemployed and treat part time jobs that people take to survive as the same as full time jobs with careers.

posted by: dano860 | September 3, 2014 7:28pm

Bethy honey, I said nothing about there being ‘no jobs’, I questioned the statistics that Dannel or his P.R. people are throwing about. Which is it 60, 40 or 14K that he has created or saved? Don’t boil your blood, don’t blow your top and don’t call people liars for asking a legitimate question.
I am offered a job at least twice a week but I did 40-70 hour work weeks for 40 years and I now pick and choose the people and charities I work for.
Now, as the NY Mag story states, the 90% of Ct that isn’t in Greenwich, the lower and middle class are really the ones carrying the load in Ct. As my Democrat friend in the legislature said, the children of our children’s children will be paying for this administration.
...oh and I read your Indeed references in the other post. Go to an Unemployment office sometime and view the people reviewing those sites, it’s shameful.
Just vote! I don’t care who you think walks on water, just VOTE!

posted by: Bethy | September 3, 2014 8:59pm

I do vote and i take my voting serious. Malloy did create over 60K jobs. I see the folks in the unemployment lines, and I’m glad they’re viewing those sites. And now that i’ve posted those sites everywhere, more people will view those job sites. I bet you they have hope now they know that there are in fact jobs in Connecticut - and see how Foley “lied” that there were no jobs. Malloy continues to work hard for this state. I will continue to support Malloy and Wyman. I don’t need you to tell me to vote. I vote anyway. And I will be supporting this administration. Lastly, I will blow steam when prompted. This is may last comment on this thread.

posted by: ASTANVET | September 3, 2014 10:10pm

Bethy - I think you should look at what kind of jobs they are. The Progressives like to talk about a living wage, but there are a lot of jobs out there that do not provide that. Not saying those jobs don’t have to get done, but they are not single job/single parent jobs. (for the most part). Someone in my family looked for a job for about 1.5 years. Now you can say, why didn’t they go to Mc’D's but when they were an executive director or a chief operating officer - finding a job is a little more difficult. Those are the jobs that have been harder to find, the economy just does not support higher paying jobs… that is a failed economic policy that has been rooted in bad policy for about a decade (or two).

posted by: Bethy | September 4, 2014 9:16am

First, do not address me as “honey”. I use my real name and do not hide behind fake names. Lastly I did view those jobs and they are very good paying jobs. If you didn’t find what you like, someone else will. Those jobs range from low level jobs to management positions. There are over 105,500 jobs. Don’t get mad because there are job openings in Connecticut! It’s a fact now that Foley can stop lying and misleading folks to believe that there are no jobs in Connecticut. Goodbye for now while I watch these devils plot against me as they fall in their own pits!!! No weapon, formed against me will prosper!! Good luck!!! Done here!! Pardon any errors as I’m typing from my cell phone!!!!

posted by: dano860 | September 4, 2014 1:24pm

Bethy, sorry, I guess some of that southern charm I learned in Georgia isn’t appreciated in the prim and proper, panty bunching New England.
I wasn’t going to reply as you stated that you were on to bigger and better things but since you did allow me a moment…
I wasn’t telling you to vote, I want EVERYONE to vote. Now what ignites my flatulence is that we cater to 100% of the residents in a community and State yet when we get a 15-20% registered voter turnout we think that is freaking WONDERFUL, huh? Even if we stipulate that 50% of the residents aren’t registered or underage we are only hearing the voices of a minority of residents that give a squat.
So, thank you for your vote and being involved, now let’s, all of us, drag a friend or two to the polls also.

posted by: Moboss | September 5, 2014 3:47am

Bethy, if you think it’s the citizens of Ct’s fault that there is high unemployment with 105,000 jobs there for the taking then maybe what needs to be done is to cut away some of the “safety net” that induces too many to choose cradle to grave welfare as a career choice?

posted by: dano860 | September 5, 2014 8:40am

Moboss, not only can you receive more than $21/hour on welfare (based on a 40 hour week) you have to worry about the lose of those burger flipping jobs now too. When they go away the unemployment and welfare rolls will burgeon.
Check out this article about a burger machine / robot that will soon be in our future…
http://www.businessinsider.com/momentum-machines-burger-robot-2014-8

posted by: Joebigjoe | September 5, 2014 8:50am

Just announced that US job growth is the worst this year and way below expectations for jobs added.

So glad that Gov Malloy has bucked that trend in the fantasy world of his supporters. After all CT is always rated near the top in job creation and friendliness to employers.